The president of the High Court has suspended a doctor from practising over concerns about his mental health, his “unusual behaviour” and complaints about his clinical practice.
Mr Justice David Barniville said he was very concerned about the man’s mental health after witnessing him in court.
This included, the judge said, “repeated, constant and almost mantra-like references” to being under surveillance by the gardaí since around 2010 and repeated references to the woman Garda detective allegedly involved in the surveillance and who, in view of the doctor, was constantly involved in actions intended to damage him.
The judge was satisfied the Medical Council had legitimate and reasonable concerns for the public if the doctor, who qualified in Pakistan and has practised in Ireland for 35 years, was permitted to continue to practice.
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The suspension applies pending the doctor’s completion of certain supervisory and medical requirements and pending further court order.
He has rejected all the claims made against him and says there has been a conspiracy against him by his former wife, the detective garda and others.
A psychiatrist assessed him as suffering from a “relevant medical disability” that was a “persistent delusional disorder of persecutory type”.
The psychiatrist believed that as the doctor’s medical disability had not affected, to date, his fitness to work, he should be allowed to continue to work under conditions including supportive health services.
The doctor has refused to accept the psychiatrist’s opinion and was not so far prepared to agree to the conditions, the judge said.
In those circumstances, Mr Justice Barniville granted an order sought by the Medical Council suspending the doctor.
The judge said the case arose after the directors of an out-of-hours general practitioner service, which the doctor worked at for a number of years until October 2024, contacted the Medical Council over his conduct.
Difficulties included his interactions with patients, their carers and, at times, members of staff at the GP service. They referred to “significant difficulties and challenges” in his life including a separation. He had claimed “undercover gardaí [were] observing him” from within the service.
Most complaints against him related to his poor manner in consultations, a peremptory approach to those for whom he was caring and an approach that “intermittently appears clinically inadequate”, particularly in relation to gynaecological issues.
It was also alleged his notes were “scant” and that evidence of reasonable examination was “very limited”. There were two significant “near misses” involving him, it was claimed.
The doctor denied all those claims and said the psychiatrist’s report should be rejected.
The directors of the GP service did not want to make a complaint, but wanted it brought to the attention of the chief executive of the Medical Council, which itself decided to initiate the complaint processes.
The judge also said the doctor alleged the garda detective was trying to prevent the Central Office of the High Court from issuing the proceedings he wanted to bring alleging the garda did various other things to damage him.
The judge said it would not be appropriate for him on a suspension application to resolve conflicts of evidence or to make findings of fact. However, the doctor’s refusal to accept there may be a problem and that his registration should be subject to conditions was sufficient to persuade the judge to make the suspension order, pending further court order.
